I've been doing crossfit consistently now for 2 years and am easily in the best shape of my life. however, i feel that now might be a good time to take some time off of the WODs to concentrate on some strength building (increasing bench, squat, push press, deadlift). I'm not sure what the best way to do this would be or if taking time off is even necessary. If anyone has any advice to offer on this subject I would appreciate it.

on that note, do you guys take time after a WOD to work on form of some of the tougher movements such as overhead squat, handstand pushups, snatch, etc.?

The most productive time to work on strength skills like you mentioned would be before the WOD. Throwing in some handstands, ring work, L-sits or tumbling before workouts is a great skill-training method.

For gaining strength while doing Crossfit WOD's coach Rut's Max-Effort Black Box concept works well. You can find the break-down in issue 3 of the Performance Menu: http://www.performancemenu.com

I would look into beginning a black box program that you can work into your program while still doing metcon work regulary. Search the board for "ME Black box". There is also a performance journal article on it:

I did exactly what you are talking about; I was even at the same point you are at now (2 yrs). I took about 3 months off from the WOD and followed Coach Rippetoe's starting strength program to the letter. I went off Zone and started eating like a house (although in my opinion it wasn't that bad, just a little more carby). I got my squat and shoulder press numbers up to advanced (according to Coach Rip's strength standards) and my deadlift and bench up halfway b/w intermediate and advanced. I was going to try and get my DL numbers up but I ended up moving, which ended that training cycle :-)

Positive results: solid increases in all of my lifts. I gained about 5lbs, and I think most of it went into my hips and torso.

My advice: Set some goals for your lift #s. Follow Starting Strength. Throw in some quick, light metcons or even skipping rope at the end of your workout. Eat. Sleep.

Oddly enough, I've switched over to O-lifting 4x a week and doing a bodyweight metcon on Saturdays, and my metabolic conditioning is still decent. I'm still strong, yet my cardio on the mat is nowhere near as bad as when I was just doing the slow lifts.

Do 5x5 for a couple micro-cycles, then 5-5-5-3-3-3 for a couple, then 3-3-3-1-1-1 for a couple (except for DL, only do one work set on that). Do that for 48 days, and you won't be disappointed with your results.